Chapter 542
She didn’t even dare to think from the other person’s perspective. What if, after marrying Jiang Yexun, she discovered he had a childhood friend, a little sister? This little sister had ulterior motives toward him, and yet no one around him noticed. Just thinking about it made her so furious that she wanted to turn Jiang Yexun and that so-called childhood friend into minced meat.
“Before, when my daughter-in-law had a difficult childbirth, your grandparents came and made a huge scene. They insisted on taking my daughter-in-law’s body with them. Uncle Zhiyuan knelt down and begged them for a long time, his head bleeding, but they never forgave him. Later, when we lost Jingyou, they wrote us over a dozen letters cursing us and saying they would cut ties with us. We felt so guilty, so ashamed to face your grandparents, so we never dared to go to Shanghai again. Even when your Uncle Zhiyuan wanted to go to the countryside, he secretly went to Shanghai, not daring to let them know.” Grandma Wang’s voice grew more sorrowful as she spoke.
They truly felt they had wronged their former daughter-in-law’s family.
But Su Xiaoxiao, hearing all this, felt her head buzzing.
“You only kept in touch through letters? Why didn’t you call?” she asked, puzzled.
She couldn’t even recognize her own handwriting, so how could the Zhang family recognize her grandparents’ handwriting?
“Over twenty years ago, phones weren’t as convenient as now. We tried calling two or three times, but each time the call was rejected, so we didn’t dare call anymore. But your Uncle Zhiyuan never forgot his former in-laws. Every month, he would divide his salary into six parts. One for me, one for Grandpa Zhang, one for his former in-laws, and one for each of his two children and Peng Huijing. Each part was about seventy yuan,” Grandma Wang explained.
???
!!!
Seventy yuan a month? Nonsense!
Her grandparents had never received this money.
Although Grandma Wang sounded very sincere, Su Xiaoxiao still trusted her grandparents, who had raised her since childhood. But, while she wanted to rebut in her heart, she maintained a shocked expression.
“Are you so sure the money really reached them? After all, you haven’t been in contact for so many years.”
“This was all handled by your Uncle Zhiyuan’s security guard. Every month, there was a receipt,” Grandma Wang said earnestly.
“Could I see these receipts?” Su Xiaoxiao asked, frowning.
Grandpa Zhang felt something was off when he saw her expression, but his desire to see his eldest grandson took over, and he didn’t dwell on it. He immediately headed upstairs.
“Wait a moment, I’ll go get them from Zhiyuan’s study.”
About ten minutes later, Grandpa Zhang came down carrying three metal cookie tins.
“Here are the remittance receipts.”
Su Xiaoxiao took them and started flipping through each one.
Twenty years ago, Zhang Zhiyuan’s position must not have been very high. The monthly remittance was only twenty-five yuan, but about every three months, there would be an additional remittance of around two hundred yuan, which was likely his bonus from a military mission.
Two years later, the monthly remittance increased to forty yuan, and the mission bonus shifted to biannual payments, each worth four hundred yuan. After another five years, the monthly remittance became sixty yuan, and the mission bonus remained biannual, but it increased to six hundred yuan.
In the last decade, the remittance had increased to seventy yuan per month, and there was a thousand-yuan remittance every six months.
The address was exactly where her grandparents lived now.
However, the signatures on the receipts were a bit hard for her to recognize.
After so many years, the total amount of money had already accumulated into a huge sum.
Su Xiaoxiao glanced at Jiang Yexun, who appeared to be deep in thought, his brows furrowed.
“I have two wishes right now. First, I want to find my eldest grandson, Jingyou. Second, I hope Zhiyuan’s former in-laws can forgive him a little, so that after he dies, he can be buried next to my daughter-in-law’s grave.” Grandma Wang said, her voice cracking with emotion.
Su Xiaoxiao felt a complicated mix of emotions as she listened.
“Don’t worry. When I go back to Shanghai for the New Year this year, I’ll go to the address you provided and check it out. I’ll ask around discreetly; maybe there will be different answers,” she said, forcing a smile to comfort them.
Grandma Wang and Grandpa Zhang were about to say that it might not be a good idea, but then they realized they would eventually have to face their former in-laws, so they swallowed their words.
“Xiaoxiao, Yexun, thank you both,” Grandma Wang said, holding her hand, deeply moved.
They continued talking for a while when Zhang Zhiyuan finally walked in, his face dark.
Seeing his expression, both Grandpa Zhang and Grandma Wang were startled.
“Didn’t you get divorced?” they hurriedly asked.
“We did, but it caused quite a scene over there,” Zhang Zhiyuan said, shaking his head.
Su Xiaoxiao felt a surge of joy at his words, but then she felt a hateful gaze directed at her from above.
She looked up and saw Zhang Xiyue standing in the corridor, her eyes filled with hatred, as if she despised everyone present.
When Grandma Wang saw Su Xiaoxiao looking up, she followed her gaze and saw her granddaughter’s twisted, contorted expression.
Though Zhang Xiyue immediately tried to hide her expression when their eyes met, she failed.
Grandma Wang felt exhausted but still called out, “Xiyue, come down. We need to talk to you.”
Zhang Xiyue twisted her clothes, unwilling to come down to hear things she didn’t want to hear. But with the way things were at home, no one would step in for her anymore.
Reluctantly, she came downstairs.
“Grandma, what’s going on?” Zhang Xiyue asked timidly.
“Are you angry with us?” Grandma Wang asked.
She jumped in surprise and quickly shook her head.
Before Grandma Wang could say anything more, Zhang Zhiyuan sneered.
“We saw your expression just now very clearly. If you had honestly admitted it, I would have thought you were brave enough to own up to it. But it turns out you’re just like your mother and brother.”
Zhang Xiyue’s tears could no longer be stopped, and they streamed down her face.
Grandma Wang felt that Zhang Zhiyuan had been too blunt, but looking at her now-twisted granddaughter, she didn’t scold him. Instead, she turned to Zhang Xiyue and said, “Xiyue, I know that your mother and brother’s issues have greatly impacted you. Your dad’s divorce will also be gossip for everyone. But this situation stems from their own wrongdoings, and no matter what punishment they receive, we must face it.
But it’s clear you still haven’t figured things out. You think power should be used to cover up mistakes. I don’t know how your mother taught you, but if you want to stay in the Zhang family, you can’t have such thoughts.
So, I’m giving you two choices. First, you can go back to the Peng family with your mom, but you have to change your surname to Peng. We will give you a generous dowry when you get married, but we won’t interfere with anything else about you. Second, you can stay with the Zhang family, but you must cut all ties with the Peng family. You will go to the countryside for labor education immediately. However, your dad will redistribute his salary into four parts. You’ll receive one hundred yuan per month for living expenses.”
One hundred yuan a month was equivalent to three months’ salary for an official worker in Beijing who ate commodity grain.
Even if it were in the countryside, as long as you could protect this money, you could live comfortably without even needing to work the land.
Su Xiaoxiao thought that if Zhang Xiyue were smarter, she would choose the second option.
But Zhang Xiyue looked back in disbelief, taking two steps backward.
“Grandma, why are you forcing me to choose between my dad and mom? Even if they’re divorced, they’re still my parents!” Zhang Xiyue cried.